History & Mission

History

Parlando School of Musical Arts was founded in 2002 with a vision to increase accessibility to music for ALL people. Now the largest stand-alone music education and outreach organization in Colorado, we provide lessons and classes to over 600 students/week and outreach programming to more than 8,000 additional people every month. Our core outreach programming includes tuition assistance, school outreach, early childhood programming, programming for people with intellectual disabilities and neurodiversities, and specific organizations like Boulder Day Nursery and Mother House. We remain vigilant in our efforts toward a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

Mission

Parlando School of Musical Arts’ mission is to provide access to people of all ages and abilities, inspiring them to share in the love of music and the arts through education, community collaboration, and performance opportunity. “Parlando” is an Italian word meaning “to speak.” In musical terms, Parlando means “to speak in a musical way.” At Parlando School of Musical Arts, we are committed to unifying our community through the universal language of music and the arts.

Our Vision Statement

With our focus on educational excellence, Parlando strives to create a thriving music and arts collective in an environment where ALL members of our community discover, engage in, and share their artistic potential.

Inclusivity Statement 

We are committed to providing opportunities for students and teachers of all races, socioeconomic statuses, sexual orientations, gender identities, and abilities - including neurodiversities. We recognize that we have work to do to prioritize and center racial equity and representation among our faculty, our programming, our educational practices, and our resources. We commit to the time, energy, resources, funding, and long term institutional changes this will entail – we intend to show and not tell.

Board

Susan Churchill, Treasurer
Andrew Cooperstock
Cindy Davis
Michael Drapkin
Anne Fitzgibbon
Carolyn Grant
Relyn Myrthil
Rick Rudy, Vice Chair
Aileen Schwab, Chair
Jon Wittemyer